I had always assumed that federal work study money was only for undergrads. I always thought it was just a way to subsidize on-campus jobs. For example, a student whose family income is low enough for her to qualify for work study gets a job working in a lab (or the library, or cafeteria, or wherever) that pays say, $6/hour. The employer only has to pay something like $1.50 of that and the federal work study program pays the rest (at least, I think that's how it works).
But did you know you can get work study money as a grad student?
I personally have not applied for work study funds, but a number of my friends have. They submitted the FAFSA like you would as an undergrad. Since the total income from a grad stipend is low, they generally qualify for work study funds. My department handles this money by applying it to TA stipends. TAs in my department typically teach two lab sections for a 50% appointment. The department applies the work study money to half of the appointment. The TA ends up teaching just one section but receives the full stipend! It saves the department money and lightens the workload for the grad student.
This is my second-hand account of how it works at my school. Have any of you benefited from work study as grad students? How did it work for you?
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The Stipend Stretcher
Welcome to a forum for academics to discuss their financial struggles and triumphs. Share tips and traps for budgeting a tiny income and take control of your money in the process. Whether it's costly travel to cope with a long distance relationship, unreliable grad assistantships, intermittent adjuncting, or recovering from years of student-level pay, we all have our money woes. Hang out here to learn from others or vent about your financial worries in a nonjudgmental environment.
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3 comments:
Work study does not work at the University of Texas at Austin.
Work-study is considered need-based aid, so if you choose to accept work-study aid, they will give you work-study aid but reduce the amount of Pell grant or subsidized Stafford loan you would otherwise receive.
It's better not to request a work-study award and try to get a job on campus through another route, like at the student rec center or through a professor. Also, the hourly pay for work-study jobs are often $2-3 less than other jobs at the university.
For example, I was getting paid $6 an hour for my work-study job shelving books at the library. However, two months later I was getting paid $9.50 an hour as a lifeguard at the student swimming pool.
Oh, that stinks! I guess I don't know any grad students who use work study for hourly jobs, only to reduce their TA load. Thanks for commenting and sharing your counter experience.
It's important to remember that, like everything else, funding varies so much from school to school and department to department. That's why I think a blog like this can be so useful and why I'd love to get more people to contribute!
My department made all US grad student apply for work-study. It would cover our summer salaries. I think we did it to lessen the burden on the grants. I know my friends in another department didn't do work study so I'm not sure if our department had to set up an agreement with the university.
All the students had to do was fill out FASFA and TAP and university summer work study form. Once I got contacted by someone in the rec department who said they saw my name on the work study list and wanted to offer me a job. I politely said I already had a job but it confused some about the process of work study.
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